This is So Happening (So Far, So Good Book 2)

by Amelia Kingston

  “Then what?”

  Elizabeth lights up like a freaking Christmas tree. “Med school at USF for me. Austin got into their social work master’s program with a full scholarship.” She beams while bragging about her boyfriend. It’s too sweet for words.

  “Grad school for me too. I’m getting my MBA.”

  “Where?” Elizabeth asks.

  I shift in my seat. “Haven’t quite decided that part yet.” I’ve got a pile of acceptance letters in my drawer for schools across the country, but haven’t picked one. It feels too final. As soon as I say yes, the rest of my life is set, stretching out in front of me in a boring, predictable, safe path.

  Becs finishes chomping down on a chip and joins Elizabeth with the inquisition. “Then what?”

  I pick salt off the rim of my glass. “I’m supposed to work for my dad. The family business. We own a handful of sporting goods stores my grandpa started forever ago.” I take a long sip of my margarita, trying to hide the anxiety rising in the back of my throat.

  “And you don’t want to?” Elizabeth asks.

  I heave a deep sigh. “No. Not really.”

  “Why not?” Becs quickly follows.

  “Ever try and get excited about a jock strap?” We all laugh. “I love my family, but the idea of doing the same thing day in and day out? It sounds like torture.”

  “Then why are you gonna?” Becs asks. This teenager is asking all the tough questions today.

  I let out a long sigh. “Because it’s what I’m supposed to do. It’s what my family wants.”

  “You’re such a hypocrite!” Becs jabs from beside me.

  “This is different, Becs.” I sigh. “It’s not like they’re asking me to give up my dream college. I don’t have some other great idea or burning desire. I just think spending the next thirty years knee deep in shin guards sounds…awful.”

  “Then do something else.” Becs is relentless.

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “But it’s your life.” Becs uses my own words against me and I’m defenseless against her onslaught. Elizabeth ping-pongs her stare between us, enthralled that I’m getting a lecture from a seventeen-year-old.

  “Besides, you said your family was tight. I’m sure they’d understand.”

  “Understand or not, it’d still break my mom’s heart.”

  “Isn’t that a bit dramatic?” Elizabeth asks.

  I shake my head. “You don’t know my mom. My brother Jake was supposed to take over as the company’s legal counsel after law school. Instead, he took a job with Legal Aid representing people who can’t afford to hire an attorney. Fighting for the downtrodden and disadvantaged and all that. He’s practically a saint, only more kickass. And you know what my mom said to him at Christmas last year?”

  Elizabeth and Becs both shake their heads.

  “She got this far-off look in her eye and said she was glad he could help those families. She knew she couldn’t be mad at him because he was helping other people, but she was sad he didn’t put his family first.”

  Becs blows out a quick breath. “Ouch. That’s brutal.”

  “No shame compares to a mother’s guilt trip.” Elizabeth tries to joke, but her voice is a little too full of angst to pull it off.

  “Right? And I’m supposed to live with that guilt every day until I die?” I shake my head and polish off my margarita. “I always thought I’d run off for a couple years after graduation and travel. Rebel a little and get it out of my system. But I don’t know anymore.”

  “Something around here worth staying for?” Elizabeth teases. I toss my napkin in her face and tell her to shut up.

  Becs has a grin a mile wide. “She’s in love with my brother.”

  I gasp. “I am not.”

  “Are too,” Elizabeth pipes up. How did I end up getting double-teamed here?

  “We’ve only had one date.”

  “You guys can’t keep your hands off each other,” Becs teases in a singsong voice.

  “Can too.” My cheeks catch fire and I feel like a silly girl with a crush. That’s what this is, just a massive crush.

  “I fell in love with Austin the first week we were together. It just took me a little longer to realize it.”

  There is no way I could be in love with Devin. It’s too soon. Sure, I’m crazy about him. The way his hands feel. The way he smells. Those dark eyes. The way he can say so much without saying a word. But that’s not love.

  Is it?

  Chapter Twelve

  Devin

  I slam the last drawer to the rolling toolbox, cursing under my breath. “Mikey!” I holler across the bays.

  “Yeah, boss?” he answers from behind me. I turn to see him wringing his hands.

  “How many times have I told you to return tools after you’re done with them?” I snarl. His eyes go wide. I take a deep breath instead of tearing into him like I want to. “Where the hell is the ten-millimeter socket?”

  “Top drawer.”

  I shake my head. “That’s where it’s supposed to be. I asked where it is,” I say through gritted teeth.

  Mikey reaches behind me, pulling out the drawer I just finished searching. It takes all the self-control I have not to break his arm. He tries to slide it open, but I don’t move. He can only crack it and squat down to peer inside.

  “I swear it was in there this morning.” He scratches his head in confusion.

  “It’s not now.”

  He swallows hard and scurries off with an, “I’ll find it, boss.”

  I kick the toolbox behind me then curse myself for doing it. I’m not the destructive type. I keep my anger in check. I have to. But I’ve been on edge all week. This shop is a second home to me, but Jessie and her changes have me crawling out of my skin. I don’t know where anything is. I don’t know how to run my own damn shop. Sean and Shelley took to the system like ducks to water, but Mikey and I are fucking lost. And Jessie isn’t even here to deal with it. She hasn’t been here in days. Not since our date.

  I haven’t seen her since I dropped her off at her front door and got sent away with a chaste kiss. Her sugary-sweet smell is fading. Without her in my space, I’m adrift. I take a deep breath and hold it while I roll my neck. Memories of that brilliant smile and those hazel eyes torture me.

  Fuck it.

  I slam the office door behind me, drop into the chair and hit the Call button on my cell. I reach behind me and grip my neck as the ringing cuts through the silence in the small space. My heart is pounding in my chest. I hate talking on the phone. I hate talking, period.

  “Devin?” Jessie’s confused voice calls out to me.

  “Yeah,” I answer. The line goes silent. I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure the call is still connected. Yep, still ticking along. I hold the phone up to my ear again and hear Jessie’s soft laugh. My chest gets tight and I run my fingers through my hair.

  “I guess I should be flattered you called.”

  I groan.

  “Oh no. That’s your annoyed groan. What’s up, Big Man?” Her words are labored and her breath is coming fast, like she’s working out.

  “Where are you?” I sound like a possessive douche.

  “On campus. Missing me, aren’t you?” The teasing lilt in her voice is obnoxious as fuck. I grunt. She giggles. “I miss you too,” she adds. Her voice is playful, but soft and breathy, like she’s whispering confessions to me. In bed. I close my eyes and focus on the sound.

  The line goes silent again, but this time I know she’s still there. There’s a rustling then a long sigh.

  “Well, then. It’s been fun not talking to you—”

  “I need you at the shop,” I croak out.

  “Need? I’m blushing.”

  If she was in front of me, I would kiss the hell out of that sassy mouth. I run my hand down my face to wipe off the stupid grin.

  “Your system is a pain in my ass.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t have shoved it up there,” she dea
dpans.

  I groan. She giggles. Our usual.

  “I know I haven’t been around the shop much. I’ve had to catch up on a lot here on campus. I’ve got a dodgeball game—”

  “Dodgeball? How old are you?”

  “Oh, hush. Not all of us were born a cranky old man.” There’s more rustling before she shouts, “I’m coming!”

  She lets out a little sigh. “I’ve got a very adult game of dodgeball. Then I’ll come see about that ass of yours. Alleviate the pain in those buns of steel. See you soon, Big Man.”

  She hangs up before I say anything. The itch that’s been driving me crazy all week settles and I get back to finding that damn ten-millimeter socket.

  A few hours later, Jessie bounces into the service bays like they’re her own personal playground. She’s wearing cut-off jean shorts and a loose white T-shirt. A long silver necklace draws my eyes down her chest, where I can just make out the bright pink bra barely containing those beautiful tits. Her sunshine-colored hair isn’t up in its usual high ponytail. It’s down and wild. The soft waves flow over her shoulders, held back by bright red-framed sunglasses perched on her head. She looks like spring, fresh and luscious. As usual, there is a wide smile on her lips and a mischievous glint in her eye. It takes all my willpower not to smile at her, too.

  “Have no fear, people. Your digital savior is here,” she sings through the space, and everyone stops what they’re doing and turns to look.

  She’s like an eclipse, fascinating but deceptively dangerous. She makes me want to give in, to lose control—something I know from my family’s violent history I can never afford to do.

  I’m in the far bay, helping Mikey sort out a rats’ nest of wires, one of which keeps causing an electrical short. His eyes are eating up Jessie’s curves with a young hunger. He’d be a better fit for her, ready to have some fun and make the mistakes life hasn’t taught him to avoid yet. I tap the pliers on the frame of the Toyota to catch his attention and point down at the problem at hand. He tears his eyes off Jessie and ducks back under the hood.

  I glare at her while indulging in the sight of those long legs in those short shorts. She stops to give Sean a big hug, unconcerned with the grease and assorted shit on his overalls that’s going to stain her white shirt. His hands stay on her sides, a friendly gesture, but it makes me curl my fingers into fists, eager to touch her. Sean leans down and says something in her ear. Her stare snaps to me and that dauntless persona drops for half a beat. When Sean pulls back, Jessie kisses him on the cheek. I let out a light grunt, jealous of the old hippie for the first fucking time in my life.

  Jessie passes by Shelley’s stall and gives her a fist bump. Shelley gestures to me over her shoulder. I can’t hear what she says, but it’s Shelley, so I’m sure it was X-rated. Jessie’s eyebrows do that teasing wiggle, a soft pink covers her cheeks and she bites her lower lip.

  After Shelley, mine is the only bay left. Jessie takes her time making her way over. She keeps her hazel eyes locked on me, that sexy grin on her lips. I stand tall, legs wide and arms crossed, watching her strut through my auto shop like it’s a goddamn catwalk. She’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

  “Hot damn,” Mikey murmurs next to me. He clears his throat and returns his gaze under the hood where it belongs. “Found our problem. Looks like the left turn signal.” He thinks I can’t tell he’s been sneaking peeks at Jessie rather than doing his damn job. I don’t bother acknowledging him. JB has my full attention.

  She steps up to me, into me. She mocks my pose, legs wide and arms crossed. With a scowl that looks as natural as lipstick on a pig, she peers up at me, bats those long lashes and grunts. “Hey.”

  My control melts under the heat of my desire for this woman. I’m starved for her, and in this minute, I don’t give a fuck who knows it. In a flash I cup her face and crash my lips on hers. She’s surprised as hell, almost jumping out of her skin and letting out a startled yip. The sound makes me grin against her mouth. She recovers, breaking our kiss for the briefest moment before she unfolds her arms and wraps them around my waist, pulling me against her.

  I’m vaguely aware of the shop going dead silent. We have an audience and I don’t care. I tilt her head and deepen the kiss. She approves with a soft moan as her tongue dances with mine inside that sweet mouth of hers. I’m teetering on the edge, about to lose myself.

  A wrench hits the concrete floor with an unmistakable clatter. Sean lets out a loud whistle and Shelley’s voice echoes across the bay. “Get a room!”

  Jessie pulls away and buries her face in my chest. Her body is shaking with a soft giggle. I slide one hand down her back and use the other to flip Shelley the bird. She harrumphs and returns to work. Sean too. Mikey picks up the wrench he dropped and wanders off to sulk on a smoke break.

  Now that no one’s watching, I lean down and bury my nose in Jessie’s hair. I take a deep breath of that unforgettable vanilla smell and kiss the top of her head.

  Jessie recovers her composure. “I hear you’ve got a pain in the ass.”

  I nod. “An annoying blonde one.” I rake my fingers through her hair and fist a handful of it.

  “You know you can’t get enough of me.” She shoves off my chest and struts back to the office. I watch every sway of her hips as I stalk after her.

  She’s right. I can’t get enough.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jessie

  I make it to the office and take the few precious seconds of solitude I have to fan my face and take deep breaths. That body. Those eyes. That kiss. Sweet baby Jesus! He could kiss me all day, every day, until I die and that’d be just fine. His lips are like crack. I’ve been craving him all week. The taste of him. His manly mechanical smell. School has been crazy, all my study groups pulling extra hours with midterms looming, and my mandatory appearances at the sorority house and dodgeball on top of that. I’ve been working on pulling back, on saying no, but I still haven’t had time to come see him since our date.

  It’s been torture. My fingers ache to dial his number. Or even the shop, just to hear his voice before I hang up. I’m trying to play a little hard to get. I’ve been chasing him so hard for so long that I need to step back and make sure he’s in this too.

  Our date was intense. Everything about Devin Bennett is intense. I’m good at fun. Light. Easy. This isn’t that. This is the beginning of something. I feel it every time he touches me, and I need to know he wants me before I let this get out of hand.

  I was ecstatic when Devin called me. Even if his side of the conversation consisted of more groans than actual words, my heart was racing the whole time. He was complaining about my system, but I’m hoping he was really complaining about not getting to see me more than anything else.

  His heavy footsteps are quick behind me. I lock my playful expression in place.

  “What seems to be the problem, Big Man?”

  He shuts the door behind him and is on me in a heartbeat. He dips to hook his hands underneath my knees, lifting me onto the desk and pushing me back in one motion. He steps between my thighs and wraps his strong arms around me. His movements are purposeful—aggressive even, but his touch is feather soft.

  He has one arm holding me to him while he explores me with the other. He traces along the racing pulse in my neck with rough, cool fingertips before dipping to tickle the exposed skin at my collarbone. I get lightheaded at the gentle caress, fisting a handful of his shirt to keep from flying away. I lift my chin and his lips take over from his fingers, worshiping me with languid kisses.

  He slips his hand into my hair, massaging the nape of my neck. I hold his wrist, desperate to keep him, and arch my back, pressing into him. My mouth falls open. Ragged, shallow breaths are all I can manage.

  He hasn’t said more than a few words to me all week, but his actions speak so much. He missed me. I can feel it. And I’m not talking about the giant hard-on pressing into my thigh. It’s the possessiveness in his touch. The obsession in his eyes. The plea
ding in his kisses. I feel it too. A need for him. It’s consuming me.

  He’s leaning forward and my back is going to be pinned to the desk any minute now, at his mercy. He slides the hand at my back under my shirt and with a quick flick of his wrist, my bra pops open. Damn, that’s sexy. I want him to take me. Right here. Right now.

  Then what?

  Then, I have no idea. If the tease is what keeps Devin coming back, I need to slow this way down.

  “Whoa. Easy, Tiger.” My voice is thicker than maple syrup.

  Devin growls in my ear, but doesn’t pull away. I push him away with my fist still balled around a handful of his shirt. He leans back, not fighting me. He locks his arm around me, holding us together. He grinds his hard length against the apex of my thighs, making me see stars. I want him, but I want there to be an us more.

  I slide both my hands to his chest, smoothing out the wrinkled shirt. Again. I’m staring at his pecs, refusing to meet those coal-dark eyes that I’m sure are burning embers. I clear my throat, shaking the lust out of my voice before I try to reason with him.

  “I’m not a sex-on-the-desk-before-the-second-date kind of girl.” I’m trying to keep it light, despite the torture we’re subjecting ourselves to. The truth is I am a sex-on-the-desk kind of girl. Let’s get real. When it comes to Devin, I’m a sex-wherever-the-hell-we-end-up, dear-God-just-take-me-now kind of girl. But I’m aiming for girlfriend status here. And if he’s half as good in bed—or on desk—as he is at kissing, I’ll slip over the edge from pushy girlfriend into obsessed stalker.

  I slam the brakes on our make-out session so fast it gives my vagina whiplash. Sorry, girl. Devin drops his head to my shoulder. He grinds his hips against mine again with a soft moan. Patience is a virtue Devin’s thick cock does not possess.

  “Second date. Tonight,” he demands.

  Desire clouds my mind, making it hard to find a coherent answer. “Can’t,” I answer on a pant. “Study group.” I’m kicking myself for turning him down, but the guilt of bailing on my friends is too strong.